A new white paper from Io-Tahoe explores the shift like this: “Once primarily in charge of data monetization, Chief Data Officers (CDOs) are now charged with transforming data into the engine that drives the company.” In other words, many are often responsible for using data to drive the company’s overall profitability.

Of course, the CDO role was originally created following the realization that data is an asset. Now, with the possibilities of big data continuing to explode, this calls for new strategies and improved data management solutions for CDOs and other data science professionals.

What factors led to the evolution of the modern Chief Data Officer? According to the report, as data continued to grow at a phenomenal rate, data sources diversified, and more use cases for data monetization became apparent, the CDO role was forced to expand.

For CDOs to perform their new duties, data visibility is key, Io-Tahoe points out. The traditional ways of working with metadata, including uniform files and app integration “add some clarity to murky databases and data lakes,” but are often not enough to solve all visibility challenges.

“A complete view of the data is crucial given that today, as a CDO, you must use data to find and create new revenue streams and new business models, expand margins and markets, drive innovation, and even recreate the organization as needed to remain competitive.” — Io-Tahoe

CDOs must also be able to steer past challenges like new, strict data privacy regulations, such as the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). On top of regulations, they also have to consider protecting against hacking and consequent data breaches.

And CDOs will have to go beyond apps to remain competitive in today’s markets. This means delving deeper into what’s known as “dark data.” And the depth of analytics required to derive value from this data means CDOs will need solutions powered by machine learning and AI.

As data sprawl becomes more and more of a challenge, many data leaders are also turning to data catalogs and smart data discovery solutions to accomplish their data goals.

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